Hospital vols, AARP tax aides win bouquets

Published
8:00 pm EDT, Thursday, April 21, 2011

Weather predictions won't dampen the enthusiasm of Easter celebrants, whether the emphasis is on solemn religious services, or chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts. We may get away with a shower or two, but we can deal with that.

Now we deal with our weekly task of selecting winners for bouquets and brickbats as we scan the horizon in the Greater Norwalk area and beyond. And, as always, there are more winners than we can accommodate with our modest awards.

Our first bouquets go to some volunteers -- where would we be without the service of volunteers in so many areas?

The ones we are honoring were recently honored for their service as volunteers at Norwalk Hospital. All have extensive records of service.

Agnes and Bob Davis of Westport have volunteered for more than a dozen years. Agnes volunteers in patient transport and Bob volunteers in gastroenterology and is a greeter in the main lobby, assisting patients and visitors. Diane Greene has been volunteering for more than 26 years, working in the volunteer office, answering phones, greeting volunteers and as the dispatcher for volunteer transport service.

Bill Brennan has volunteered for 24 years, completing about 10,000 hours of service, working in the Emergency Department and the Intensive Care waiting lounge.

All were presented with plaques by hospital president and CEO Daniel J. DeBarba Jr. at a recent luncheon.

Brickbats to motorists who ignore a simple and very sensible traffic law.

Since April is the month of showers, you often need your windshield wipers on. But, under motor vehicle regulations, you also must turn on your headlights. We have issued this reminder before, but it seems that many are ignorant of it. Some new cars do it automatically, but for us driving those older family buses, you have to do it manually.

It's for your own safety.

Volunteering takes many shapes these days, and one of then earns a bouquet for raising funds for an ailing friend.

Volunteers -- some going under "the needle" -- turned out at Ink-Side-Out Tattoo to raise funds for Tony Boccanfuso who is battling polycystic disease and is awaiting a kidney transplant. Not all received tattoos offered by shop owner Josh Glasser. Many settled for piercings, buying T-shirts and key chains. He said all the day's proceeds from the day's sales will go directly to Boccanfuso, a native Norwalker and a longtime friend. That amounted to nearly $6,000 on a Sunday when the shop is normally closed.

For those who received tattoos, many were veterans with a number of tattoos, but there were some first-timers, according to Glasser.

Bouquets to a dedicated corps of volunteers who helped Norwalkers struggling with tax forms as the deadline approached.

These volunteers from AARP turned out every Saturday and Tuesday and Thursday nights at the Norwalk Library and the South Norwalk Branch to assist those low and middle income taxpayers fill out the forms for federal and state taxes.

Paying taxes is not a popular exercise, but a necessary one to keep government operating on all levels. With assistance of experts in the field, those taxpayers who availed themselves of the service can rest easy knowing it was done right.

Not a glitzy form of volunteering, but certainly one that deserves attention and thanks.